Can you believe it's September
already? For me that is the very faint, but growing signal indicating that it's
time to start getting serious about contest planning and
execution. Get the dates on the calendar NOW!
Make sure you have the correct start
times -test all of the equipment/antennas ahead of time - no major
changes on the day of the contest etc...you should know the drill - For the
newer contesters, my strongest recommendation is to thoughouly understand the
rules of each contest. The beauty of contesting is that is takes very little
change in the rules to completely change the flow and strategy of a
contest. In Sprint, the QSY rule is very unique, the short
exchange in the CQWW DX which makes for great rate and the amount of
DX participation is very unique, the long exchange in SS which rewards accuracy
is unique. I would encourage YOU to share with the club your thoughts or
questions on contest preparation and those contests you prefer and why. Let us
hear from you on this topic. Let's help the new guys/women that have recently
joined and challenge the old pros to step it up even further this
year.
As you may know, one of the items I
feel the club can really improve upon is the participation from it's
members. Regardless of your favorite flavor - there will be
something to suit just about everyone's fancy in the next few months. I
hope you will join me in participating in most of the following. To help your
planning here are just a few to whet your appetite:
9-12/13 WAE
SSB
9/12/13 ARRL VHF
9/13 CW
Sprint - The most intense 4 hours on the radio! . Jeff KU8E is signing up teams
now. Even if you don't play - listen to hear what all the fuss is
about
9/20 SSB
Sprint - Sign up for a team next week!
9/26/27 CQWW DX
RTTY
10-3/4 CQP SECC members have
historically done very well in this contest and 6 land propagation is usually
very good to our state.
10-11 RTTY Sprint
10-24/25 CQWW DX SSB
11-7/9 SS CW (The SECC will go
for the gavel - make sure to go all out and score for the club!)
11-21/23 SS SSB (The SECC will go for
the gavel - make sure to go all out and score for the club)
11-28/29 CQWW CW
12-4/6 CQ160
12-12/13 ARRL 10m
12-26/27 SPTC
More information can be found at the
ARRL, CQ and NCJ websites. Are you going to be a participant this year? Are YOU
going to be the operator that helps the club achieve to the next level? A
question for those that do operate quite a bit - are you ready this year to go a
full 24 in SS or 48 in CQWW? what did you do last year? You can't help the
club if you don't participate - CU in the QRM!
73 Brian NA4BW - President SECC
2009-2010